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Natsukawa Tora was now in Fuyuki Central Park.
He picked a bench at random, sat down, and stared at a distant flock of pigeons for a long time. At last he let out a heavy sigh: "Haaah... I really can't. Going to the Matou house..."
After leaving Fuyuki Church, Natsukawa Tora had headed for the Matou residence—no, more accurately, he intended to. Just like every other transmigrator who dreams of averting tragedy, he wanted to change what he could, even though he knew how powerless he was.
The tragedy of the Matou Family was one such thing.
Sakura Tohsaka, Kariya Matou—arguably the two most tragic figures of the Fourth Holy Grail War. The former was adopted into the Matou Family and renamed Sakura Matou; the Old Bug Zouken Makiri used his disgusting Crest Worm magecraft to remake her body inside and out—literally—torturing her for who knows how long in a cellar full of nothing but worms.
From that point until the start of the Fifth Holy Grail War, Sakura Matou lived a life of unbroken darkness.
Kariya Matou's fate was no better.
Having once escaped Zouken Makiri's clutches, he returned to the Matou house to free Sakura. After a year of torment by Crest Worms he was transformed into something no longer human, his mind half-ruined; the only thing keeping him alive was the hope of rescuing Sakura and her mother Aoi, and of taking revenge on Tokiomi Tohsaka.
Yet he died never knowing that Sakura had already fallen into the worm pit before he ever came back—everything he did had been in vain.
Natsukawa Tora wanted to change that tragedy—desperately.
But he couldn't.
"On my own I can't even break through the Matou Bounded Field. Let alone face Zouken Makiri; I'd be dead for sure."
Zouken Makiri was a centuries-old magus. Though his soul had rotted, his magecraft was intact; crushing a mere ordinary person would be child's play.
Of course, the reverse was also true—borrow Arthur's power and disposing of Zouken Makiri would be effortless. Mystery loses meaning before higher Mystery; as a Servant, Arthur's Mystery far surpasses magecraft. Rescuing Sakura Matou and Kariya Matou and razing the Matou house would be simple.
But that would raise several problems.
First, it might reveal that he had already summoned a Servant. At this stage every participant was like a hunter in a dark forest; no one would strike first. Doing so would cost him the initiative in the coming war, and worst of all Arthur's True Name might be exposed.
Second, with his interference Kariya Matou might never enter the Holy Grail War; the Blackened Berserker would never appear, meaning no one to draw Gilgamesh's hatred. And with Kariya out, the number of Masters would be short; the Grail might pick some troublesome replacement from who-knows-where just to make up the count.
Lastly, there was his own problem.
"Because I have no—or almost no—magical energy, Arthur can only draw mana from food, so his combat strength is unstable."
Arthur had explained this the moment he was summoned. Daily life was fine, but once battle began his need for mana would skyrocket. Natsukawa Tora definitely couldn't supply it; the only alternative would be to pay with his own life-force.
In other words, to let Arthur fight at full power, Natsukawa Tora would have to pay with his life—an enormous, life-draining gamble. And if Arthur ever needed to use his Noble Phantasm, Tora might die on the spot—Arthur himself had said so.
So at first Natsukawa Tora planned to handle the Matou matter without relying on Arthur, using only his own strength.
Yet after merely approaching the Matou house once, he knew he truly couldn't do it.
*(Just standing within sight of that mansion made his legs shake and his body run cold; he felt eyes on his back. If he'd gone any closer—or even lingered—he'd already be in the Old Bug's sights.)*
Natsukawa Tora had no cheats, no special abilities; therefore he could do nothing.
"Let's go back."
Kirei Kotomine said the Church had already cleared his morning off, so instead of moping around he might as well head home and find Arthur. A righteous, benevolent King of Knights would never refuse a plea to save someone, right?
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**[Go home and ask Arthur to clear the Matou Family dungeon]**
That was exactly what Natsukawa Tora thought.
But when he spotted the golden-haired hunk in uniform greeting customers outside a family restaurant, Natsukawa rubbed his eyes, confirmed he wasn't seeing things, and rushed over in three quick strides.
"Arthur, you idiot—what are you doing here?!"
Natsukawa grabbed Arthur by the collar and yelled.
"I told you a thousand times not to come out! So why are you here working as a waiter?!"
"Ah... Ma—"
"Hold on, why are you shouting at Mr. Arthur?"
Before Arthur could answer, several female customers pushed Natsukawa aside with dark looks.
"Cutting in line and yelling—where are your manners? Are you okay, Mr. Arthur? Did his spit get on you? Let me wipe it off."
*(Damn women!)*
Seeing Natsukawa's black expression from beyond the cordon, Arthur knew he'd truly angered his Master. He hurriedly told the girls, "Apologies, fair ladies—he's an acquaintance of mine. We need a word. Please step inside—Manager, four guests!"
"Right this way, please!"
After firmly ushering the smitten girls indoors, Arthur pulled Natsukawa into an alley opposite the restaurant.
Arms folded and scowling, Natsukawa leaned against the wall. "Explain. I warned you not to run off, yet here you are having a blast. What would Queen Guinevere say?"
"I'm truly sorry, Master! And rest assured, Guinevere is very understanding—if she weren't, I couldn't even attend Knights of the Round Table meetings."
"Hmph!" Natsukawa snorted. "So you're playing waiter for the life experience? Looks like you've been at it a while."
"Mainly to ease your burdens, Master. You attend school by day and head straight to a part-time job after, sometimes until midnight. Supporting yourself alone is already tight; with me added, you can't even afford enough food."
"So I hoped to lighten your load—cover part of the household expenses, bring in extra income... I'm sorry for disobeying your order not to leave. I'll resign after today's shift."
Arthur's explanation left Natsukawa silent.
Not because he had nothing to say, but because he was stunned: a Servant working part-time to ease his Master's finances? Would a Heroic Spirit really stoop to waiting tables?
Look how long Artoria Pendragon has been freeloading at the Emiya household.
"Arthur... just how little do you think of me?" Natsukawa sighed. "Feeding two mouths is tough, sure, but I'm not so far gone I need your help. Quit making me sound like I'm on the brink—don't underestimate me, bastard."
"Mm, I'm sorry, Master."
"Still... thanks, I guess," he muttered.
"Hm? What was that, Master?"
"Nothing! Keep the job—one less burden for me, I'm all for it!"
Seeing his Master turn away, Arthur smiled. "Understood."
"Oh right, almost forgot the main thing—what time do you clock off?"
"Eight tonight."
"Then... come with me tonight, Arthur." Hesitating, Natsukawa clasped Arthur's hand. "I need your strength—help me do this, Arthur."
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